From TedxTalks on YouTube:

Pro skier, Elyse Saugstad, talks about her life as a pro skier and all of the highs and lows that come with being an extreme skier.

Hailing from Girdwood, Alaska, Elyse was raised in the mountains and became an outdoor enthusiast at a very young age. Her passion for skiing has only grown through time and ultimately became a professional skier after graduating college. She now resides in Squaw Valley, California. Through 2007 to 2009 Elyse won the majority of International Freeride Competitions she entered, and was crowned the 2008 Freeride World Tour Champion. The last few years Elyse has been focusing on filming and still photography. She has been published in Powder Magazine, Freeskier, Backcountry, Skiing, The Ski Journal and countless international ski magazines. Elyse has worked with film companies such as Salomon Freeski TV, Voleurz, Rage Films, and Garchois Productions. Elyse has been nominated for “Best Female Performance” in 2013 and 2011 for the Powder Magazine Video Awards. By spending most of her on-snow time in the backcountry, she has gained intimate, first-hand and practical knowledge with backcountry conditions, avalanche awareness and unique terrain reading. Her distinctive position as a person that has survived a major and fatal avalanche in 2012 brings a noteworthy story and, consequently, education to masses of backcountry enthusiasts through speaking engagements, organizing SAFE AS clinics and working with the media.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)